July 5, 2007

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:3 (KJV)


I am not a morning person by choice, but by necessity; age and an aching back have made me one. I have found that the earlier I am up, the longer I am able to be alone with the Lord, and that has become a very important part of my day. I have struggled all my life, as it seems most Christians do, with having a disciplined quiet time every day....same time, same place, etc. Some days I do really well, others not so hot. Yet when I miss that special time, I am the loser.


I read a book a while back by Anne Graham Lotz called "My Heart's Cry...Longing for More of Jesus". Her premise for her book echoed my heart:


"As I have poured over the Scriptures, my heart has cried out for more than just enough....
to escape a fiery hell.
to be saved from God's wrath.
to call myself a Christian.
to manage my guilt.
to get a ticket to Heaven.
to squeak through Heaven's gate.
I long for more than just the bare minimum God has to offer.

I long for more than what the average Christians seems to settle for.

I long for everything God wants to give me.

I long for more than enough....

to bend my will!
to awaken my conscience!
to break my heart!
to transform my mind!
to overcome my prejudices!
to soar in my spirit!
to conform me to His glorious image!
to give me an abundant entrance into Heaven!
I long to be saturated in Jesus! So, please, dear God, just give me MORE".


The only way any of us will ever experience MORE of Jesus is to develop an intimate relationship with Him. And the only way to develop an intimate relationship with Him--- as with any other relationship--- is to spend time with Him. And the way we spend time with Him is to feed on His word, to talk with Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and then to take the time to LISTEN for His still small voice.


Jesus Himself knew the value of the morning. He regularly sought the Father early in the morning:

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." Mark 1:35 The Son had access to the Father at any hour of the day...as do we....but, he chose to seek Him alone and in the quiet stillness of the morning before his day began and the people began to press into Him. I believe He had that recorded in scripture just so we would have His example to follow.

The morning affords us a unique quietness to commune with our Father. Before the day has begun with all its demands pressing in on us....before all the distractions and noise of the day inundates our senses, if we will draw away to a quiet place with Him, our day will be enriched, our paths will be more marked, our senses will be more aware. It is a discipline....some days it is a fight, for the enemy of our souls will do anything to keep us from that meeting. Today won't you join me in making Psalm 143:8 your prayer :"Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in Thee do I trust; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul to Thee."